


Cloak & Dagger

by Miranda13



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Angst with a Happy Ending, Death Threats, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Friends to Enemies, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mild Blood, Miscommunication, Pregnancy (mention), Rating May Change, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Two Shot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:35:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22966273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miranda13/pseuds/Miranda13
Summary: Rey did the best she could with the cards destiny had dealt her. She was to marry Sir Jar Jar, a kind, wealthy man, even if unintelligent. Unexpectedly, King Vader requested Jus Primae Noctis - the right to the first night with the bride. This is where our story begins.
Relationships: Kylo Ren & Rey, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 5
Kudos: 49





	Cloak & Dagger

Lady Rey of Gunga. That is how she'd be known to the populace after her marriage to Sir Jar Jar.

As a child, Rey was a street urchin who had survived because she was a scavenger, a worker, a fighter, sometimes a thief, but never a beggar. She survived because she was stubborn. 

Rey grew up to be a beautiful woman, and Sir Jar Jar took notice of her. Not by a mile was he handsome or bright, but he was the sole heir to a wealthy estate and he had a good heart. Her kids would have a mother, a father, a roof over their heads and food on their table, everything she could hope for them - everything she never had. 

So, Rey said  _ yes _ when he proposed to her.

The day before her wedding day, she definitely did not have butterflies in her stomach. But, she was glad. Rey was at peace with her destiny.

That was until a soldier showed up at her door to escort her to the Nabooian Palace. 

The monarch had decided to exercise his  _ jus primae noctis _ . The right to the first night. 

"This is not possible, it must be a mistake," Rey insisted to the messenger.

"The monarch has the right to spend the night before the wedding of every maiden in the realm," he kept saying.

"Yes, I know, Sir, but I am not a noble, I am not even a merchant's daughter, why would King Vader risk give a bastard of his to a peasant like me?" 

"I don't know, Miss, you have to come with me."

"I am not a beauty, I don't understand."

"Please come with me, there's nothing I can do."

"Can I fetch some belongings for the night?"

"Yes, Miss, please hurry."

*

Unfortunately, Rey didn't have time to think. The only thing she knew for sure was, she wasn't about to give her maidenhead to a wrinkly, murderous snake like King Vader. 

Sir Jar Jar might break up the engagement solely out of the shame of having a bride who had been touched by another man. Some grooms postponed the wedding for a few months to make sure the bride wasn't with child. 

Her future was in jeopardy. Once she lost her maidenhead, there was no going back. 

With no time to think things through, Rey packed a garter and a dagger.

"Let's go," Rey said to the soldier.

*

Once in the Palace, Rey was thoroughly bathed and fed.

Then, Lady Rose dressed Rey in a silky white nightgown and styled her long chestnut hair in a single braid.

"Sweet Rey, are you a maiden, still?" Rose asked.

"How dare you offend me this way, I am not yet married!" Rey hissed.

"Forgive me for being so blunt, but if there's no blood on this silk by the end of the night, you'll have no head on your neck by your wedding hour!" Rose warned.

"There will be blood tonight," Rey assured. That night, her dagger would slice the king's throat, then, if need be, her own. 

Rey could have escaped right away. She was clever. She would have felt bad, knowing that King Vader would burn Sir Jar Jar's estate to the ground for not producing his bride at the King's request. But that's not the reason Rey decided to stay.

Rey decided to stay because she'd make good use of her chance to kill Vader. 

He was a tyrant who made his countrymen miserable with his preposterous taxes, killing the men in his neverending wars and raping the women on the eve of their weddings. 

Rey would kill King Vader and attempt to escape. She wasn't looking forward to killing Finn, the soldier, or Lady Rose; they had been very kind to her. But they were witnesses, and Rey was a survivor.

*

The sun had set and Rey was alone in the luxurious bedroom. The sheets, the pillows, the mattress, they were so soft, so comforting, they even smelled good. It wasn't like anything Rey had experienced before. She dozed off, once or twice.

Then, footsteps. Louder and louder, getting closer, followed by the wooden door of the bedroom, opening with a whine, then closing with a thunderous bump. 

Rey managed to stay still, eyes closed, pretending to be oblivious to the intruder. Her assailant. Her victim.

She held the knife under the pillow.

The footsteps approached the bed. Body heat. A light touch on her face, a gloved finger putting a strand of hair behind her ear. Something blocked the moonlight that lit the room through the window. 

Vader must be leaning down, towards her body. 

It was time for the fatal blow.

With a loud cry, Rey charged towards Vader, aiming the dagger at his jugular.

*

Nobody died. 

He… he stopped the attack. With his bare hands. Gloved hands. Unarmed, nonetheless.

How would a feeble old man defend himself so effectively against such a treacherous blow?

"Milady, did you mean to kill me?" He asked, in a cool, unaffected tone.

"Yes, I did! You're just a... horrible creature in a mask!" Rey growled, furious.

"Already you ask that I dispose of a clothing item? We have all night, there is no rush," he said, amused. He maintained an incredibly firm grip on Rey's hand and the dagger.

"Let me go, please, or kill me, for I am of no use to you! Not my blood, not my body, compared to the ladies in your realm, I'm nothing!" Rey urged, now forcing the blade towards her own neck.

"Yes, you're nothing. But not to me," he declared, finally taking the weapon from Rey's hand and tossing it away.

Under the horrified gaze of a desperate Rey, the man took off his mask.

It wasn't King Vader.

Rey recognized this man. He looked taller than she remembered, his shoulders and his chest were much wider, and his big ears were hiding under longer raven locks than he used to have. His voice was much lower; it was a man's voice, now. 

But it was him.

"B-ben Solo!" Rey sobbed, throwing him a punch on the chest worth of a thousand she meant to give him. "How can you play with me in this situation, you need to go before the king gets here!"

"Why, were you looking forward to a romantic night with him? Have I  _ interrupted _ ?" He asked, disgusted.

"No, you idiot, I'm going to  _ kill _ him. If you want to help, be my guest, but you need to hide; otherwise he'll call for the guards before we get a chance," she reasoned.

"Uhm. To kill the king, what a tempting offer. But there's a fatal flaw in your plan, Rey," he said, looking into her eyes.

"What is it?" she challenged.

"The king is not coming tonight," he clarified.

"What? Why am I here, then? What's going on, Ben?"

"I was the one who requested  _ jus primae noctis _ with you."

Silence.

" _ You _ did?"

"Yes."

"You are a blacksmith's son, Ben. Nobody even knows you're alive -  _ I _ didn't know you were alive, dammit! You have no right to anything. This is not funny!" Rey fumed.

Seemingly unfazed, he took off his hooded cloak and let it fall by the bed. "It is true, when we met, I was nothing but a blacksmith's son. You were a little street rat, to whom I taught how to fight, how to steal, how to stay alive."

Seated on the edge of the bed, he proceeded to take off his boots. "Then, the truth about my parentage came out. Yes, my father was a blacksmith, but my mother was Princess Leia, the king's eldest daughter who lived in the tower."

"WHAT?" Rey cried, in shock. "The king's grandson is  _ Kylo Ren _ ! He is a  _ beast _ \- he killed your father, Ben! How can you joke about such a thing? Ben Solo, stop this, stop this right now!" She urged, holding her knees tight against her chest, as if it could protect her from his words, rocking back and forth.

His face remained impassive, except for the smallest twitch under his left eye. It was Ben's tell on dejarik, Rey knew it well. 

Slowly, he took off his gloves, then his jacket. "Han Solo's death was a necessary evil. If the populace knew I was a bastard, my claim to the throne could be challenged," he delivered, cool as ice.

He gave her time to let the truth sink in, unbuttoning his vest.

Rey could always tell when he was lying. This time, he wasn't. To her, he never did. Not about things that mattered. 

Ben was about to toss his vest away, just like he had done with her dagger.

The dagger!

Rey jumped off the bed towards the corner where her knife had landed. She was quicker than Ben, but he was much stronger. 

Before she could reach the door, he grabbed her tiny waist from behind with one arm, using the opposite hand to disarm her one more time. 

Rey was panting. This wasn't happening. No, it couldn't be. Life couldn't be  _ this _ cruel. 

The only friend she ever had was a true monster. And he was about to... rape her? No. It couldn't be it.

He still held her by the waist when he spoke to the shell of her ear, "I promise to take good care of you, Rey. This is just another thing I will teach you." 

Rey elbowed his stomach and crawled towards the knife. Ben pulled her by her legs. "Rey, I  _ did _ teach you everything you know, will you stop this nonsense? We’re only wasting time and energy."

She let him slide her body under his, turned around, grabbed his shirt and pressed the dagger against his throat. "Not everything! You  _ left _ me! Alone!" She cried, enraged.

He looked down into her eyes with devotion, like she has just confessed her love for him. "Ah. There it is. The Rey I know. You don't care at all that I killed thousands, burnt countless homes to the ground, do you? You would even forgive me for killing Han Solo, if I begged for forgiveness. What you don't forgive nor forget is that I  _ abandoned _ you. Just like your parents did. Technically, they sold you for drinking money, but you know what I mean."

His bitter words pushed all of Rey's buttons, just like he knew it would. 

She pressed the blade against his neck with enough strength to draw blood. "Why do you want me to kill you?" 

She knew that's the only thing he could possibly want, saying these things to her. 

Ben swallowed, sinking the knife a tiny bit more into his flesh. "Why  _ don't _ you kill me? You know everything I did. You know I deserve it."

“I will not slit your throat. That’s too merciful to the likes of you,  _ Kylo Ren _ ,” Rey said as his moniker was a contagious disease. 

“Fine! If you’re not going to kill me, let’s get on with it, shall we?” He easily took the dagger from Rey’s hand and, this time, tossed it out the window. 

They stared at each other, lying on the bedroom floor. Rey never let go of his shirt. 

“Now, it’s time to take what I want. Tonight, you belong to me!” He said, kissing her fiercely, crushing her against the ground. 

She bit his lip hard, drawing some blood.

“Damn you!” He shouted, striking her face with the back of his hand.

Rey stroked him back, as hard as she could. 

“You like it rough, uhm? Not very  _ maiden-like _ . I’ll hate to see your head on the spike tomorrow!” He got up from the floor and effortlessly lifted Rey’s body, throwing her back to the bed. 

The skirt of her silky nightgown was ruined, her long legs completely exposed. Rey pulled the sheets up to cover herself.

“That is pointless, Rey, you know I will get to see you, I will see  _ all _ of you.”

“Ben,” she reminded him of his old name. “Please, don’t go this way,” she said, her tears running freely down her cheeks.

Ben unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his chest to Rey. It was so different from what she remembered. It was full of muscles and battle scars. 

“First you bite me, then you beg me. You know it further encourages me, right? I feel bad for your poor husband - not that he’d notice anything, that idiot,” Ben scoffed.

Rey deviated her gaze from his body to the window. “Sir Jar Jar is a good man,” she whispered.

Ben got rid of his shirt and walked into Rey’s field of vision. The silver moon lit his large frame from behind. He was beautiful. Rey had never seen that much flesh of a man, but somehow she knew he was the most beautiful man she knew. Someone she used to know, rather. The boy she knew turned into a cold-blooded murderer. He killed his own father.

“Oh, now you defend your betrothed? I was hoping you were marrying him just to kill him in his sleep and keep his wealth to yourself. I guess I was wrong. You fancy him,” he said with a scowl.

Forced to face him, Rey tried at least to keep her eyes on his eye level. “I don’t fancy him,” she said in a very small voice. Then, she recovered some of her spirit. “You made your choices, one of them was to leave me behind to become the heir to the throne. This is my choice, to be wedded to a kind man, a man with possessions, who will give a good name to me and to our children.”

Mad with rage, Ben forced Rey to lay down on her back, towering her body with his, an accusing finger pointing at her face. “There’s the truth! Ben Solo never stood a chance with you, did he? A man with no possessions to his name - forget that, he didn’t even have a real name to give you and your children!” 

He was shaking; his pupils dilated.

“I loved Ben Solo. That would have been enough,” she answered honestly.

He rolled to her side and laughed. “Ha! That’s precious, coming from you! When did you ever love anybody?”

Rey closed her eyes. She wasn’t going to survive that night - if Kylo Ren had killed his own father to conceal the truth about his birth, her death was as good as certain. 

Better to make her peace with herself, with her life; leave the Earth with good sentiment in her heart, and pray that God’s angels were faster than the Devil’s demons. 

“I loved Ben Solo with all my heart. I am ready to meet my maker with this truth. No matter how many sins I have, this is not one of them,” Rey asserted.

“LIAR!” He shouted, rolling to her top and clutching her throat with his large hand, not instilling enough pressure to actually prevent her from breathing. Just a reminder that he held the power over her life.

Rey opened her eyes. His face was soaked with tears of his own. “It’s the truth,” she insisted.

No. It couldn’t be the truth. His grandfather had told him to leave the peasant girl behind. She was a liar and a whore. Two guards had swore on his presence that they had laid with Rey. They said she had mocked Ben Solo while she was with them, laughing to the verge of tears. 

Of course he killed them both with a single blow of his sword, but he believed their testimony. It made sense. How could someone like  _ her _ possibly love someone like  _ him _ ? 

So, he accepted his grandfather’s legacy and mentorship, embracing the dark, killing everything and everyone within an arm’s reach. The only thing he still hadn’t killed of his past was Rey herself. 

King Vader said it was time to kill her. By killing Rey, Ben Solo would be dead at last, and Kylo Ren would be crowned king. That was Vader’s promise.

What better way to kill Rey than force her to make love to someone she loathed, proving in the process that she wasn’t a maiden anymore, and exhibiting her shame for the entire country to see the next day? 

Now, Rey alleged she loved Ben Solo. Kylo Ren was about to find out, no matter what. He  _ needed _ to know. 

“Have you waited for Ben Solo? Are you untouched?” Kylo Ren asked, giving her the last chance to save herself from what he had in store for her.

“I thought Ben Solo was  _ dead _ ,  _ you _ are to blame for this! But yes, I am untouched. My maidenhead is the only valuable thing I have in this life. I would never throw it away.”

It made sense. Rey’s answer was in line with her character. Kylo Ren was already questioning the beliefs that made him change his life forever. 

He needed to be sure.

“If it is true, these sheets will be painted red by the time I’m finished with you,” he said, releasing his loose grip on her throat to kiss it. 

Rey remained still.

It was odd. He expected some fighting on her part, like before.

He decided to test her, squeezing one of her breasts while he kissed her neck.

Nothing.

“You’re not even trying to fight me off? Are you this accustomed to having a man on you? Is there anything left of the Rey I once knew?” He asked, incredulous, fearing he’d not be strong enough to go through with his wicked plan.

Rey tenderly wiped the tears off his face. “I forgive you, Ben Solo. And I beg for your forgiveness, because I did lie to you. I lied when I said I loved Ben Solo. The truth is, I love him, still. I will endure whatever I need to endure tonight and, if it’s God’s will, I will leave this Earth with your child on my belly. This way, I know for sure I will go to heaven. God would never deny a precious baby. I will be okay.” She smiled.

No.

No, no, no.

No.

It could not be.

Vader had lied!

Everything he did. Abandoning Rey. Killing his father. Letting his mother rot away in that tower. Taking so many lives. It was all for nothing. 

A strangled cry burst out of the depths of his soul. 

Ben Solo sobbed. 

He got up from the bed and destroyed everything he could.

He screamed like a wounded animal.

Rey saw an opportunity.

She grabbed his cloak and his boots and made her way to the door.

He let her go.

Outside the palace, in the front yard, Rey retrieved her dagger, stole a horse and ran away from Naboo.


End file.
